Thursday, October 29, 2015

Book review: Halo Found Hope: A Memoir. With a giveaway!

"Machines beeping, the blur of medical staff running, a crash cart whizzing into an ICU room, was there any hope? A young woman lay, packed in ice, as doctors attempted to somehow stop the swelling in her brain that threatened to take her life… and her family waited.

Six days turned into eight weeks. She awoke to discover that she was not the same. She saw two of everything, couldn’t feel half of her face, couldn’t hear from one ear, and could not speak. She couldn’t even tell anyone that she felt hopeless… or could she?

Halo Found Hope is the story of a beautiful, busy wife, and mother of three whose life changes instantly with the diagnosis of a rare brain tumor. An exceptional ENT, a brilliant neurosurgeon and a dedicated medical team tackle the tumor, setting off a series of unbelievable miracles.

Helo’s story is not one of survival, or of salvaging a life through a broken body. It is not about endurance through pain, but victory because of it. While the family heard her silence, God heard her prayer. Helo’s story is simply this: Wherever you are and whatever you are going through, God is right there. He doesn’t need to be recognized by you, to be there for you. He can replace fear with courage and discouragement with determination, if you let Him. Helo did, and that is how she found hope.”

"Christian readers will find in these pages a powerful testament to the power of faith in dark times, and even agnostics will be uplifted by the joie de vivre of this remarkable woman.” — Kirkus Reviews

My review:

Halo Found Hope is the memoir of one woman’s journey through a brain tumor diagnosis and subsequent treatment. It is a well-written account of Helo’s diagnosis, surgery, rehabilitation, and acceptance of her “new normal” following the ordeal. Not only is it a medical journey that she goes through, but a spiritual one, as well, as she learns to trust God on a new level and find her purpose on the other side of the trauma.

The author is gracious and positive as she takes the reader on this journey, and I found that there were many lessons to be learned from Helo’s experience:

•Have compassion for those who are going through major medical crises.
•Hope in God’s love for us and His goodness.
•Consider how we would respond if going through a medical crisis.
•Consider how to prepare (emotionally, physically, spiritually, relationally, and practically) in advance in case a major medical trauma was to affect our families.
•Have compassion for those with disabilities. You may not be able to see the disability of the person using a handicapped parking spot.
•Offer hope to others whenever you have the opportunity.

This book is important. It is informative. It is full of hope, and I recommend it.

I received a copy of the book from the author and Celebrate Lit in exchange for an honest review, which I have given.

There is a giveaway going on now to win a lovely prize package in celebration of Helo's book. You can enter here: www.facebook.com/CelebrateLit/app_228910107186452

Halo Found Hope is available at Amazon (http://amzn.com/145753133X) and other online retailers.